Helicopters and Gunships?

[DesertChicken]

What, pray tell are the tactical differences between teh combine helicopters and gunships? They both seem to serve the same purpose. Arial fire support. The Heli's seem better equipted than the gunships and yet the Combine seems to shift more towards gunships as the game progresses. Hmm...

[0mar]

probably materials

[Mechagodzilla]

The choppers are better, but they require pilots, and are easier to destroy.

[Diazo]

It has more to do with location I expect. For whatever reason, (supply lines probably) I expect that the Gunships are based at City 17's citadel only, and therefore choppers have to be used outside of the immediate area around City 17.

My guess anyway.

Diazo

[LoneDeranger]

I guess they could have done with just one aircraft. But you can't really complain about having too many diffrent enemies, can you?

Plus the chooper is damn cool.

[BRX]

I think the difference between the two is that the chopper is a vessle the Combine took from the humans (given that all their other vehicles seem to be organic in some sort of a way).

P.S did you ever get a close look at a gunship that crashed on the floor?
Some amazing texture work on it.... really cool.
Also I recommend going noclip and getting close to those while they are in mid-aior and looking at them from up close. They have really cool skeleton movements.

[HunterSeeker]

The difference is that the combine gunship is a sentinent creature, while the chopper needs a pilot.

[DesertChicken]

The difference is that the combine gunship is a sentinent creature, while the chopper needs a pilot.

Still doesn't explain why they started using teh gunships later in the game with even less weaponry.

Eh, maybe it's a military branches kinda thing.
Civil protection(cops) has its heli's and trucks. Overwatch(military) has its gunships and striders.

[oberGeist]

Eh, maybe it's a military branches kinda thing.
Civil protection(cops) has its heli's and trucks. Overwatch(military) has its gunships and striders.

there - You just answered yourself;)
couldn't agree with that more

besides gunships can take out rpg's, while helis can't.
at least not that easily

[Epsi]

Plus, I would guess there are some internal Combine politics issues associated with the use of gunships. Notice how at the end, two gunships actually come through from the other side of the portal. The gunships are used all throughout the Combine, and are on loan direct from the Benefactors, whereas the Helicopters are built and used only on Earth, but incorporating Combine technology, just like the pulse rifle.

[Edcrab]

One of the so-called "Hunter Killer" (seeker?) choppers actually takes around thirty rockets to kill- it only seems weaker because the airboat gets a huge gun fixed onto it. I wish they'd been used a bit more :(

But yeah, it seems that the CPs (thought to be standard or minimally modified humans) use technological vehicles over the biomechanical machines favoured by the Combine's military.

[gcomeau]

What, pray tell are the tactical differences between teh combine helicopters and gunships? They both seem to serve the same purpose. Arial fire support. The Heli's seem better equipted than the gunships and yet the Combine seems to shift more towards gunships as the game progresses. Hmm...

The gunships sacrifice some firepower (mines) for greatly improved maneuverability. One of the combine helicopters wouldn't stand half the chance against the laser-guided RPG that a gunship has, it couldn't bring it's weapons to bear on incoming fire fast enough to shoot it down unless it was conveniently fired directly in front of it. Once you get the RPG they had to give you some opposition that at least stood a chance against it.

[Vesh]

Plus, I would guess there are some internal Combine politics issues associated with the use of gunships. Notice how at the end, two gunships actually come through from the other side of the portal. The gunships are used all throughout the Combine, and are on loan direct from the Benefactors, whereas the Helicopters are built and used only on Earth, but incorporating Combine technology, just like the pulse rifle.Right, but also two were being worked on inside the Citadel. Maybe they were just being repaired, though.

[MiccyNarc]

Just being repaired.
The 2 at the end of HL2 came straight from the Combine homeworld.

[Vesh]

Oh! I didn't mean that - the number thing really made that ... yeah, you get me.

I meant that possibly they were being constructed, not that the two you defeat are the ones from the Citadel. I wouldn't expect that level of plotholery from Valve (given that local teleportation isn't happening for the Combine).

[NormalSim12]

i dont think the gunship has to charge up before it shoots, either?